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Terran Federation (TF:C Verse)
Disclaimer: This Article is based on Starship Troopers Film/TV Series Universe Canon and the Tabletop Game by Mongoose Publishing. "Courage, Duty, Honor..." -An excerpt from the Federation Patriotic song "A Good day to die" As sung by the Former Sky Marshal of the West Omar Anoke The Terran Federation, officially known as The United Citizen Federation is a space faring sovereign state, republic-style parliamentary system of government based on Earth and its controlled colonies representing the majority of human populations in the Milky Way. History See full article History of the Terran Federation The Disorder Wars Era of Earth Sometime around the late period of 21st Century AD, approximately in 2050, Earth suffered from a series of catastrophic global conflicts between world superpowers and regional powers. Culminating in the Russo-Anglo-American Sino War for Siberia and Far East Russia in 2110, and ending in 2130. Nuclear weapons were not used due to fear of mutually assured destruction and constant, almost frantic, diplomatic discussion on all sides. Despite this the war still left profound consequences to the globe and its societies, as the effects of rising seas and increased temperatures, combined with an increase in ferocity of natural events like droughts and floods, devastating farmland, and striking coastal regions, where 76% of the population of the world lived along, particularly hard. Facilities like the FEMA EERC (Environmental Emergency Refugee Camp) outside New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America Would remain open well into the Federal Governing, indeed it remains as a museum to this day. During the war, several attempted uprisings were made by intellectual elites of different nations, most notably the Revolt of the Scientists of 2126. All of these attempted coups were quelled in their respective nations, events relating to these coups remain classified, with many documents destroyed or missing. The wars came to an end with the signing of the New Dehli Treaty, the treaty's controversial conditions pertaining to the treatment of POWs led to a surge of disgruntled veterans worldwide. Coupled with the economic turmoils and social crisis, many governments neglected their populations and eventually fell into a stage of stagnancy and decadence. Rise of the Federation The origin of what became the Federation started with a populist uprising in Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom. A group of disgruntled veterans, disillusioned civic servants, and concerned civilians formed a political movement known as the "Aberdeen Militia", to combat against the violent gangs which had overran the city, and restoring social and civic order in the home. The day of their Uprising on October 19 2132 AD, is known as an official Federal holiday, Federation Day, Aberdeen Day, or in Scotland "Fuck England" Day. When the Militia took the city of Aberdeen, the European Alliance declared martial law, attempting to take military action against the populist union. However, their growing dissident populations and demoralized military eventually erupted into massive riots and desertions, which in turn caused the EA government to collapse as member nations underwent emergency referendums, with many leading parties being dissolved overnight. With the former EA nations joining the Militia's cause, a new unified political entity was formed in Europe, naming itself the European Federation, this started a trend of fear and paranoia worldwide as national governments were one by one ousted by their own populations in favor of joining the Militia movement. Governments worldwide attempted to suppress the new Global Federation Party, and other populist movements followed after around the globe. Many of these efforts failed, as the populist message was a heady call to most veterans world wide, and the desperate populations of many nations crushed underfoot during the Disorder Wars. Most nations fell bloodlessly in elections and changes of power, as the European Federation quickly proved itself capable, rebuilding, often from the ground up, the listing and troubled economies of their member nations, improving quality of life, and launching a very successful if often insufficient humanitarian campaign across the world. Global superpowers also succumbed to the Militia populist movements, and eventually, one by one, their governments were ousted and nations joined the Federation. The last of these superpowers, China, finally joined in 2146, after decades of bloody and pointless fighting sparked a revolt among the military after orders to fire on protesters. Pro-Democracy supporters overthrew the Chinese government in one of the few rare bloody revolutions, known as "The days of Red Lights", called so for the act of hanging party leaders and administrative leaders on street lights with slit throats. With the near complete unification of the globe, the European Federation began to establish a true united Earth, writing up a constitution and government. Acting as a unifying political body for Earth, it eventually renamed itself into the Global Federation from 2150-62, then the Terran Federation in 2163, and finally the United Citizen Federation in 2220. Soon after their formation, the Federation announced am ambitious worldwide economic recovery plan, and social policies for its people, most specifically regions which were heavily affected by the aftermath of the Disorder wars like the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and central Eurasia. This plan would prove largely successful, as the scrapping of most other currencies in favor of a unified "Federal Dollar", and the establishment of at the time temporary price fixing for basic needs, ensured that even the poorest could afford a full meal and amenities. Era of Discovery Within decades, publicly around 2180, the Federation began to reorganize the former defunct space programs of Earth's Nations into a singular organization, the Federal Stellar Authority. Their first success were made with the launch of the TFS Gallileo, the first spaceship constructed since before the Disorder Wars Era. More success in space colonization efforts eventually paid off, as the FSA began to colonize the Moon, establishing the Lunar Base and the Olympus Base on Mars. During the colonization of Mars, scientists discovered remarkable proof of the existence of extra-terrestrial life forms. The first example being several primitive plants and fossils they discovered on the Martian surface, the second, and most remarkable, an ancient alien base located beneath Martian surface near the southern pole. However, the scientist crew who started to unearth the base become infected with a bio-weapon deployed by a religious extremist group of Scientologists. As a result, the FSA was forced to nuke the facility to prevent a viral outbreak, thus wiping out both the virus and all the assets located in the underground base. The decision was extremely controversial, but Federal authorities would declare it a necessary sacrifice for saving human lives over a potential scientific breakthrough. During this period, the discovery of Psionic powers in human biology changed the fabric of Human society, with the first known case of this from a civilian clerk named Jon Forrest, being the first documented and verified human psychic. A Special Service was established to monitor and govern Psychic citizens and civilians in society. With the invention of an FTL Drive by Kazakh scientist Pavel Cherenkov, the Federation began constructing its first FTL capable spaceship, the TFS Magellan. This revolutionary propulsion system was the culmination of a decades long of cost-mounting and controversial scientific research. The Cherenkov Drive was later known as the "Magnetic-Gravity Drive" due to its formation of a new branch of physics. The Colonization Era A relatively short time in human history, only fifty years starting with the FSA's establishment of the moon base to the orbital research and civic centers around Jupiter, it was ended sharply by the First Bug War on Pluto. The First and Second Bug Wars The First Bug War begins on Pluto, when the FSA research team is attacked and nearly wiped out by what was thought to be native life on Pluto. Pluto being a collection of ice asteroids and rocky planetoids was riven with caverns and crannies across its surface. The operation to wipe out the bugs lasted six months, and despite unexpected casualties from the supposed animal life, was a total success. It was short lived. A day later, an FTL contact was detected leaving the system, before the report could even reach Earth desks, an accelerated asteroid impacts Buenos Aires, killing millions and leaving tens of millions more wounded and homeless. The Second Bug war begins, and it would be two decades until the war was supposedly once more concluded. The Relay 314 Incident 2329 AD - The Federal Shanxi Defense Fleet in the Shanxi system detonated moon E-SS-8-2b, as target practice during routine drills and at the behest of Shanxi Colonists to break open the ice moon for its water to be transported to Shanxi. During firing drills by the Black Prince's laser cannons, the moon was suddenly shattered as the primary Shanxi relay activated itself in defense from the laser fire. It is then science officer Andrew Selvo sends a probe to the relay without authorization and the relay sends it away. After four weeks, the relay is confirmed safe, and the TFS Ragnar Lodbrok is sent to investigate the other end. However, a standard relay patrol group, lead by the Turian Cruiser THS Vanker with its escort frigates, in a one in a million occurrence find the lone Federation scout corvette Ragnar Lodbrok and initially thought they were pirates, and try to stop them from escaping through the local relay. The Terran corvette, alerted by the sudden appearance of the Turian cruiser and its escorts, attempted to flee back through the relay. However it had drifted significantly from the relay while it was taking readings and was quickly being outpaced by the much faster frigates so it fired a warning shot. Unfortunately standard hierarchy procedure when buzzing opponent ships is to tightly group themselves for shock and awe. The warning shot missed the prow of the leading frigate by meters and hit the trailing frigate killing the pilot and co pilot and exposing the command deck to hard vacuum killing the navigator with extreme burns to 90% of his body, but mercifully the atmosphere shield enabled before the rest of the command crew succumbed to vacuum's cold embrace. The Hierarchy assembled a 50 ship taskforce to confront the Terrans, this taskforce would later be the savior of the Shanxi colony. The First Contact with the Turians was disrupted by the Petolemaic invasion of Shanxi, the first human world near the border with Citadel Space. Commodore Erica Chavez retreated alongside the Turian fleet and managed to convinced the Turian command to assist the Federation in saving the colony from enslavement. She would lead the fleet in battle against the Skinnies a few days later, the turian fleet dropping their soldiers on Shanxi and relieving the colony from the remnants of the Skinnie forces. Their coordination with the defending Terran military units enabled great tactical success in driving out the Skinnie raiders of Shanxi with only minor losses after brutal close combat fighting. The Turian Hierachy by this point had officially informed the council of their first contact and wished to join the Federation in their retaliation campaign against the Petolemaics. The Council, who learned about the first contact incident, offered a warm welcome to the Terran Federation, revealing the existence of the greater galactic community to humanity. Petolemaiac War The Petolemaiac War was a culmination of intensifying hostility following a governmental coup by more militant Skinnie factions in the Hegemony on Tophet. Declaring themselves as the Tel'Rock Dominion after their leader, the former Hegemony Admiral turned Warlord Tel'Rock had systematically displaced Gen'Tak followers in their territories, with the Warlord's faction becoming increasingly hostile towards the Federation. Around late March 2657GS/2329AD, the Warlord's factions began full mobilization for war and by April of the same year, they struck Shanxi, with the attack repelled by the combined efforts of Turians and humans. Despite this setback, the Tel'Rock Armada managed to successfully decimate the Federation's frontier garrisons in the Skinnie colonies through surprise attacks. Initially, the Warlord's military managed to overwhelm the unprepared Federation's forces, with previous intelligence pointing to the Terrans still being embroiled in the two decade long Second Bug War, with responsibilities across a wide frontier. But with the abrupt conclusion of the conflict, what was set to be a sweeping advance across a the wide frontier degenerated into a state of stagnancy as both sides funneled in ships and troopers. However the tide was firmly in Tel'Rock's favor, and to Maintain momentum he moved to ensure the Federation remained disorganized. The battle of Cassandra, an important communications relay and hub for the entirety of the southern front, was seized early in the war by information from the Traitorous general Projack. It was seized by a significant fleet of Dominion forces, and would require a coordinated and well panned assault by Federal forces to retake. They were supported by a Turian Expeditionary Fleet, and the newly constructed Ryuhu Super Laser Dreadnought, against a fourth do all hegemony forces in the region including multiple Ancient-Era pattern Skinie Dreadnoughts. The battle was a bloody afair, with the Turian's arrival signaling the end of the initial battle phase and the Skinnies retreating in system. This was only the first of several planned tactical engagements for control of the system. The Skinnies were conducitn ga feigned retreat in system, to draw the Tera forces into a n ambush by Libertatem missile cruisers. hwoever, alast minute defection by hte Libertatem resulted in the the retreating Dominion fleet being caught between the lattice of Libertatem missiles and pursuing Turian and Terran ships. The Terran-Turian combined fleets was victorious, the counteroffensive operation successfully breaking the stalemate of the war. This victory was eventually followed by victories in battles such as Siege of Zion and many other places like Svixsula and Urdennes, with the increasing losses, the Warlord's Armada was driven back into their own territories in a defensive war that now turned against them. Following a Skinnie raid on one of the Council's outer colony Tesla'Vir, a Coalition was made between the Turian Expeditionary Fleet and the Terran Federation to lead a punitive expedition towards Petolemaic Warlord's forces. The Turian Hierarchy at this point officially declared war on the Warlord's Dominion over the atrocities of the unprovoked attack on Tesla'Vir. Soon after, the Terran-Turian Alliance began to push for the initiative and launched their invasion into Hegemony space, first attacking the planet Lockhet, the capital of the Republic of Ha'Mon; an influential military state in the Warlord's Dominion and defeat the Warlord's last standing fleet over the Hegemon capital at Tophet by the end of March, 2658GS/2330AD, after the death of the Warlord, the Dominion surrendered and was dismantled afterward, with power vacuum of the Hegemony eventually given back to Lew Gen'Tak, a member of the former ruling Gen'Tak tribe in-exile after his clan was decimated by the Bugs War. In the aftermath of the war, the reformed Hegemony led by Gen'Tak officially entered a peace negotiation of post-war concessions and repairations for the Federation and the Turians on the Citadel. The war was formally ended by April 2658GS/2330AD. The Third Bug War Just before the start of the Petolemaic War, the Federation also managed another feat that would go down in galactic history, successfully ending the Second Bug War with the deployment of a planet-killing NOVA bomb on Klendathu, home of the Feral Arachnid species. With the destruction of the majority of hive queens, and their telepathic link over the bug hordes across the galaxy, the war was conclusively won, requiring only minor mop up and skirmish actions across the rest of the identified bug space. Victory was sweet for the federation, conclusively defeating their stalwart opponents, ones who they had facedfor nearly 30 years, one who had inflicted such destruction and devastation upon their people, who had only wanted to genocide them first. They had fought the war for more than a generation, with those born at the start joining the military, mustering out, and having their own children. The war would not be the last. Unknown to the Federation, the Arachnids were only an offshoot of the primary Arachnida Empire. A surviving bug queen would go into exile to her more technocratic cousins, the "Pseudo-Bugs". Outraged by the actions of the Federation, and the incapability of their more organic cousins, the Pseudo-Arachnids planned for an invasion of Earth's sphere of influence in retaliation for the destruction of Klendathu. The Bugs counter-strike would be the start of the Third Bug War. It would start as a general assault on Earth on 4th March of 2666GS/2338AD after the assassination of most of the Sky Marshalls, and half the Governors, prominent Federation officials such as Sky Marshall Prime Tehat Meru, Sky Marshall Enolo Phid the greatest tactician of her generation, Sky Marshall Ronald Lee Sanchez, and Sky Marshall Richard Riverfield being critically wounded at Geneva. With most of its top echelon command staff dead or incapacitated it left only Sky Marshal Hanna Ann Hathaway the only fit Sky Marshal, by default he became head of the Federation's entire military force. The Federation, whom had been drunk on their series of victories after the Two Bugs Wars and the Petolemaic War, was completely caught off guard by the Pseudo-Arachnids appearance and technology. In particular the never before seen gravity well generators, which made the Federation's Cherenkov Magnetic-Gravity Drive impossible to activate. There would be no retreat from battle when the Federation met Pseudo Battlewagons, any and all battles were fought on the Pseudo Arachnid's terms, with no escape possible. Earth itself was eventually besieged, cut off from its colonies by multiple simultaneous bug terrorist attacks destroying the Guilder Wave FTL comm relays and forcing the federation to use courier ships to communicate to its next nearest comms station, most colonies save for the Eastern Fringe were cut off from central FTL traffic. Only due to the use of quantum entanglement communication with the east, was the Federation able to coordinate successful mustering and counterattacks, with heavy casualties. At the height of the bug invasion, they controlled a majority of Russian Siberia, most of Australasia, the North African Saharan Development Zone, the majority of Argentina, and most of North Canada, a full third of the Earth's landmass all told. It would take a year for the Federation to reorganize and initiate a counteroffensive to finally break through Earth's naval blockade, once again at heavy cost. Forming a coalition of the Terran Republic, the renegade pirate group Black Cross, the Petolemaic Mobile Fleet, what remained of the Western Fleet, and the full force of the Southern Fleets, the Battle of Terra had been drawn to a bloody draw. With Terran tactical victory inevitable, the Psuedo-Arachnid Queen Naplon laid out her ultimate trump card, in her cargo hold was a supposedly operation NOVA bomb. She transmitted to all frequencies what she planned to do if they pressed the attack, she would use it against Earth. Even if the NOVA was a lie, she in her own words, was spoiled for choice on how to devastate Earth like had never before been seen, even simply ramming her kilometer long ships into the Earth's oceans or surface would cause catastrophic damage and the death of billions, not including indiscriminate orbital bombardment, or the release of bioplagues. Her terms were simple, the return of the core Arachnid worlds, and a ceasefire. The alternative was death for billions at least. The war ended, with what some would call a negotiated surrender, others a Pyrrhic victory, and some still a flat out defeat, for when the gun was placed against the respective heads of the conflict, the Federation blinked first. Despite how one frames the end of the war, it was without a doubt the Federation that had effectively lost the war on a strategic level. With many of its assets either destroyed or fallen into the Pseudo-Bugs hands. The conflict was formally ended on June 1st 2666GS/2338AD above Earth in a series of peace negotiations between Naplon, the Prime Queen of the Pseudo-Arachnid Empire, and the surviving Federation officials lead by Governor Williams, Sky Marshal Prime Hanna Ann Hathaway, General Juan Rico, and seventeen other surviving Federal representatives. In the aftermath of the war, the Federation's economy entered a period of crisis and recession, its loss of the territories in the Klendathu system and its neighbors a huge blow to Federation prestige and isolationist politics. Once against face to face with the cold hard truth they previously learned thirty years previous, that humanity was just as vulnerable as everyone else. The Citadel Council saw the opportunity in this, and extended a hand to the Federation. During the war, the Citadel and its constituents had offered assistance ranging from interest free loans, transfer of merchant marines, their worlds as refugee centers, and the Turian Hierarchy taking up full peacekeeping duties in the System's Alliance buffer zone. In the aftermath, huge swaths of Earth and largest colonies required extensive rebuilding, irresistible offers from various Volus banking clans and powerful Asari corporation were extended, and a mutual defense pact with the big three, on the condition that the Federation joined the Citadel. The offers were tantalizing, and desperately needed, but even still there was pushback in all corners of the Federation, for so long humanity had maintained its independence in its sector of the galaxy, it had its pride, its prestige, and its might. Many legitimate arguments regarding military independence, foreign interests, trade protection, counter intelligence, and colonization flared up. But reality set in, the Federation was desperately low on liquid capital, Earth itself had many of its largest industrial centers damaged or flattened, many terraforming projects on earth being destroyed or disrupted catastrophically, tens of millions dead, and many of its financial institutions on the brink of collapse due to the hyperinflation, and now sudden contraction of the market in the previous decades during the Second Bug War. The truth was the Federation needed to simultaneously expand its resources and colonies, repair its devastated infrastructure, replenish the fleet, modernize its armory, and defend its borders. All without capital, all with a demoralized populace, all with a desperately aging fleet, all without a true ally to its name. The Citadel had perked many ears with its selfless offers during the war, with a billion stories of the Citadel coming to the aide of those in need of the Federation. The choice, while fought against in every quorum and stage, was undeniable. The Federation would join the Citadel on one additional condition, that it be promised a council seat within the next century. To their surprise, the Council didn't even argue against it. Despite some shaky starts and disagreements over C-Space policies, the process of negotiation of the Federation's entry, as well as the majority of humanity into the Citadel's inner politics was a welcoming sight for the Council as not only humanity had learned its humility, but also officially ended its isolationist policies, becoming more open with the rest of the galactic community. Government and Colonial Administration The Federal Council is the ruling body of the Federation Government, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The Governor Prime is the head of state and head of government of the U.C.F, who directs the executive branch of the federal government and oversees the majority of civilian affairs within the Federation. Federal Colonies are allowed to have a certain degree of autonomy and elect a regional Governor determined by population size. Each colony is free to pursue its own political agenda and have a distinct jurisdiction system based off old Earth, this is allowed as long as it does not violate the interests of the wider Federation or Federal laws. Society The people of the Terran Federation are made up of either "Citizens" or "Civilians". Everyone is born a "Civilian", and at age 18 every "Civilian" has the right to enroll for a minimum 2 year, maximum 20 year term of "Federal Service". In theory a completed term of Federal Service ensures a "Citizen" is willing to put the needs of the community before their own personal well-being. This is because Federal Service is tough and dangerous (by design). It can involve joining the Military, being a Human guinea pig, testing survival equipment, or backbreaking Manual Labour. The more dangerous or difficult the task, the shorter the term of service will often be. The Federation makes it quite easy to quit a term of service before completion (even during war time), but once someone has quit they are never allowed to enroll again barring special circumstances. This is to ensure that all volunteers are dedicated, whilst also discouraging people from leaving. The opportunity is open to everyone able-bodied or not. A Doctor giving a medical lecture to perspective Citizens once said, "if you came in here in a wheelchair and blind in both eyes, and were silly enough to insist on enrolling, we will find you something silly to match. Counting the fuzz on a caterpillar by touch, maybe." The only way you can not join is if a psychiatrist decides you cannot understand the oath. The CAE, or Civilian Aptitude Exam, is a rigorous and long series of physical, written, and oral examinations to determine the skills, fitness, and capabilities of a civilian. It is nearly impossible to "Fail" the test, with only the psychiatric portion failable if the person is deemed mentally incapable of upholding or understanding the oath. Doing well on the test allows one to influence where they can be assigned, doing poorly or having only narrow fields of capability limits ones options, however, there is always something of value in everyone, even if that value is mopping up the floor, or counting the legs on a caterpillar. "Civilians" are neither discriminated against, nor deprived of legal rights other than that of the ballot, only after completing a term of Federal Service, "Civilians" then become "Citizens" and gain the right to vote among other special privileges and rewards. Citizens are however highly respected, and after completion of service come out with a full college education, resources, and contacts. All Citizens are trained and educated, required to have a good understanding of history, and to maintain a level of physical fitness suitable for military service if possible. All Citizens, regardless of occupation or job while in service are expected to rejoin and serve in the military if called upon in times of extreme crisis. Economy The Terran Federation economy is a mix between state owned corporations and vying independent organizations, with the majority of weapon and research companies state owned or state funded. For example Morita Arms Company has been state owned since the formation of the Federation, while Terran Shipyards despite the name is privately owned and controlled. Despite this however, most of the economy is a free-market with largely Laisses Faire attitude towards the matter except regarding trusts and monopolies. Federal laws clearly state harsh punishments for either purposeful or accidental oligarchy or monopoly up to and including treason. Despite this, opportunities still exists which focus mainly on civilian industries in Terran society. The Federation economy is smaller compared to the other three major space-faring powers in Citadel space. But because of its insular nature, the Terran economy is entirely self subsisting, and while smaller, it allows it to be much more flexible and adaptable to wartime conditions compared to the other major powers, with an efficient state-owned economic system fueling the defense industry during the three Bug Wars. Many have pointed out the uncanny resemblance of the Federation economic policy to the Batarian Hegemony. Both being largely State-owned economic systems, however, despite the Hegemony propaganda boasting about itself, the Batarian planned economy lacks a large scale free-market, and is easily riddled with corruption and unproductive workers. On the other hand, the Federation's economy, which has always been leaned towards a "sudden war" policy, is entirely capable of self-sufficiency as well as being capable of removing corruption and unproductive workers on a much more intimate level. It is perhaps because of the Federation using perspective citizens as its main workforce for its state-owned industries, these highly motivated and driven individuals often serve up to a decade or more on the workforce earning citizenship, with the guarantee that afterwards they can get a highly lucrative contract for a more permanent position in these industries, with a bottom up promotion practice of promoting hard working and skilled persons inspiring others to give their all, every corporate worker started from the bottom and worked their way up. Where as previous corporate stagnation resulted in a grossly top heavy organizations with poor morals and even poorer working practices. Its a common joke among Terran workers, "Slack off and you can get terminated, embezzle and you can get 'terminated'." Military "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." -A common Terran military phrase- Overview The Federal Armed Services (FAS) is the umbrella name of the primary defense force and military operations branch of the Terran Federation. It is used in times of both peace and war, and is one of the many paths used by civilians to gain franchise and become Citizens through serving for a term of service no less than two years. The FAS consists of the Federal Army, Fleet, and Military Intelligence operation units and is considered the backbone of the Federation, defending its borders, protecting trade routes and invading enemy territory. Terran Federation Army The Federation Army is the ground force of the Terran Federation and is a purely volunteer force, like all Federation Service branches. It is a paternalistic military organization. The two major sections of the Federation army are the Mobile Infantry, and the K-9 Corps, which are independent but work in conjunction with each other. The Army is transported throughout the galaxy by the Navy in various sized transports ranging from a corvette, which houses a single platoon, to regimental transports which house up to six platoons. The M.I. prefers the smaller, "speedier" corvettes because of the operational flexibility they offer, and the harsh lessons learned in the First Klendathu Invasion. This provides the ability to conduct concurrent and/or consecutive raid-type missions over a large area of operation and on many planets or systems as opposed to larger set-piece battles or invasions in a more concentrated manner. The Mobile Infantry is an elite fighting force of the Terran Federation. Their training is depicted as extremely strenuous, with a few dying before completion. In actuality, its extremely rare for a recruit to die in training, as their Drill Instructors keep a tight eye on their charges. In the autobiographical novel "Starship Troopers", written by General Juan "Johnny" Rico, describes how out of his entire 2000 man training unit, fewer than 200 made it all the way through basic training on their first attempt. A Mobile Infantryman is typically equipped with a Powersuit as well as an arsenal of weapons and vehicles at his disposal, some built into the suit. These weapons range from conventional firearms to micro-nuclear warheads. The armor is strong enough to resist any conventional weapon less than explosives or anti-tank rated rounds. The servo-motors give the wearer enhanced strength and stamina, capable of supporting a trooper in both high gravity environments and zero G. The armor is also equipped with jump jets and rockets, allowing the trooper to move in zero G, and low gravity environments. One expression used in the book as a compliment to good soldiers is that they are "on the bounce." Rico also goes into detail on other armor types including the universally derided light armor, and the walking tank Exosuits. Usually, an MI platoon drops from individual capsules launched from a troop transport in orbit. The capsule is used only once. The MI platoon will then execute its mission. These missions range from hit-and-run strikes to search and rescue missions. The MI will usually deploy their troopers in a spread formation and only close in together during the final 100 meters. After the mission is complete, the Transport will launch a retrieval beacon for the platoon to follow to the retrieval area. Usually the beacon will play music such as, in the case of the TFNV Rodger Young, "The Ballad of Rodger Young." Once the retrieval boat lands, the platoon boards and returns to the transport. The MI prides itself in its esprit de corps. This philosophy includes never leaving a wounded soldier for dead; instead they pick up their wounded and make sure they make it back alive. To leave a man behind in anything bar the most suicidal of situations is considered a shameful act. All MI personnel are combat trained and certified, this policy originates in their original formation when they were simply marines on Fleet ships, with the saying, "Every Marine a Rifleman". This means that when a unit launches a mission, all soldiers do so. In extreme cases of need, conscription is enforced and all citizens are required to report for service once more if able. During the Second Bug War, there was critical shortage of manpower as millions of soldiers were killed, wounded, or lost in the Road to Victory Campaign, the bare bones support structure utilized before was discarded, and legions of support personnel were either hired, conscripted, or volunteered to fill the ranks, and free up soldiers to focus on fighting. To help solve these manpower issues, all MI soldiers are also extensively cross-trained, because of this, all MI troopers are trained in all equipment, vehicles, and weapons on offer to the MI, from the basic utility knife to the awe inspiring Marauder Exosuits. By the end of a deployment in the MI, its expected the average trooper to bullseye a target at 300 meters with every gun, fillet a fish and gut a man, quote Aristotle and Juan Rico, drive, maintain, and arm every vehicle in the arsenal of the Federation, and know the distinction between the good of the nation and the good of the people. The K-9 Corps is an elite division of the Terran Federation military. Troopers are trained with Neodogs, dogs genetically enhanced that serve as elite scouts. Soldiers in K-9 are selected after intense psychological evaluation, as the bond between the soldier and his neodog (or "caleb") is more intense than any human marriage or relationship. If the master is killed, the neodog is killed at once. If the dog is killed, doctors are often forced to restrain the master and slowly piece his mind back together. Neodogs are genetically-enhanced dogs that serve as elite scouts in the K-9 Corps. Neodogs are said to be over 6 times more intelligent than regular dogs. Every Neodog is assigned a handler and if the Handler is killed, the Neodog is peacefully put down if they don't die of the psychic shock. Pathfinders are the elite of the elite, made up of the most dedicated, driven, skilled, and perhaps lucky of the MI, each and everyone is a career soldier, survivors and participants in dozens of theaters. To even be considered to join the Pathfinders is an achievement. Pathfinders, as their name suggests, were originally created after the first Invasion of Klendathu to path find, clearing landing zones, assassinating VIPs, destroying high value targets, and other objectives as they come up. They're equipped with the best and most expensive armor and weapons, and a squad of them is equal to entire battalions of normal powersuited troopers in the right cases. Revered for their almost suicidal bravery, they are the first deployed and some of the last to retreat. Terran Federation Space Fleet See also:Terran Federation Space Fleet The Space Navy refers to all Terran Federation forces based in outer space on board spaceships. The Fleet numbers at 12 Fleets, ranging in size from 1,000 to 10,000 ships, with the 14th Fleet under construction currently. Flight training in the Navy lasts roughly as long as Mobile Infantry boot camp. Those with exceptionally high marks are assigned as pilots for Corvette Transports or F-76 Thunderbolts. Those who do not score as high are assigned to the many other roles on the ships, such as engineering, maintenance, and weapons systems. The Fleet is also the aerospace warfare service branch of the United Citizen Federation, serving as an air force and as a space armada. The Federation Marine Corps is the Naval Infantry branch of the Fleet assigned to defend Fleet ships and installations. They carry the same standard issue weapons as the Mobile Infantry, as well as maintaining the same Rank structure, however unlike the M.I. the Marine Corps goes under the command of Fleet. Namesake The term "Terran" is often used to refers to Humans who originated from the Terran Federation. This spawning of this term dates back to the formation of the Aberdeen Militia, in several patriotic propaganda songs, but its widespread adoption is actually a more recent term, first entering popular usage in 2260 by the movie "The First Citizens", a dramatization of the Aberdeen Militia's creation and war against the gangs and criminals of the city. Its theme, "March of the Terrans", gained popularity across the Federation as the movie was considered a smashing success. It proved so popular that it spawned a revival in interest in the roots of the Federation, and the term "Terran" was starting to be used in replacement of the persons world of origin as a sign of loyalty to the ideals of the Federation. Being "Terran" is seen as a type of ethnicity among humans, anyone can become "Terran", whether human or not, and has no real connotations other than being a civilian or citizen of the Terran Federation. The title is not universal to all humans however. Colonial secessionists, outlaws, and traitors often revile the term, or are reviled for using it, and refer to themselves simply as humans, or of their colony of origin. However despite their insistence, most species still refer to humans species in general as Terran, due to the fact that the Terran Federation is the first officially recognized political entity that represents the human populations in the Galaxy. A good example of humans who aren't Terrans are humans of the System Alliance, many humans born on those worlds are not considered Terrans as they've never set foot in Federal space nor seen Earth or the coreworlds. There is a popular Cruise-ship tour of the core words and Earth in the Systems Alliance for humans looking to reconnect with the homeworld and adopt the term. Category:Terran Federation:Contact Category:Factions Category:Background